IT was a battle of epic proportions, pitting one chart legend against another in the race for the top.

But forgive me for thinking I had stepped back in time as the Official Number 1 album dash was hotting up.

George Michael has beaten Kylie Minogue to score his seventh UK charttopper with Symphonica.

But, the big news is, it isn’t 1989.

Now I’m a big fan of both artists.

Symphonica really shows off the vocal talents of the former Wham star. Kylie’s offering, while featuring far too much electronic voice processing for my liking, will go down a storm in the live arena and on the dance floor.

And they refuse to rest on their laurels.

I was at an exclusive screening of a George Michael documentary, due to be screened by the BBC on April 1, last weekend.

A select group of fans were ushered into a fancy cinema at the swanky Soho Hotel in London and given a sneak preview of the backstage footage of his concert from the Opera Garnier in Paris where George became the first pop singer to perform.

And, afterwards, there was Kylie, strutting her stuff on the stage to Into The Blue just around the corner at G-A-Y at Heaven, fresh from her appearance on The Voice.

My point is, they may both have had success beyond the wildest dreams of most performers, but they work hard to retain it. New artists could take a leaf out of their books. And then we might not be having the same conversation in another 25 years time.

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